Moyes: No midfield plans for Rooney

Manchester United manager David Moyes says he will not play star Wayne Rooney in midfield this season. Rooney scored his first Premier League goal of the season on Saturday as United enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. The 27-year-old, who was regularly linked with a move away from Old Trafford throughout the close-season, has remained at the club. And he is set to play more of an advanced role this season, with Moyes revealing he has no plans to play the England international in midfield, a role he was often used in last term. "I can only see Wayne playing up top and playing as a forward for us," Moyes said ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League qualifier against Bayer Leverkusen. "I don't have a goals target for him. But his targets have been big in recent years. "The hope is that we get a partnership where folk are saying, 'My goodness, we are having to play against Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney!' To be successful you need to have people who can score you 20 goals. "I am hoping with Robin and Wayne you have two there who you would say they have that in them to do that. "I think the (Old Trafford) crowd have given him a great lift and hopefully he can repay them with plenty of goals. He needs a period now to get back to what he does best." Turning his attention to the clash with Leverkusen, Moyes revealed he has taken the advice of predecessor Alex Ferguson on board. Under Ferguson, the club won the competition twice but were eliminated in the round of 16 last season by Real Madrid. "I speak to him quite regularly and talked to him recently about the number of games we've got coming up and how he would usually use the squad at times like this," Moyes added. Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand refuted suggestions that the defeat to Real will serve as motivation for their campaign this time around. He also believes that an English side could be in with a chance of the trophy this time. "We were all disappointed, but we'll start afresh this season," Ferdinand said. "Last season is out of our minds and not something we need to use as motivation. "If you don't win the competition you've got catching up to do. It's that simple. "The Germans did well last year, the Spanish sides before that. It goes in cycles and hopefully we can start the cycle this season."